1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to child safety seats. More specifically, the invention is a system that controls the environmental characteristics of temperature and air quality experienced by a child sitting in a child safety seat.
2. Description of the Related Art
Parents today lead increasingly complex and demanding lives. For example, in two parent families, both parents frequently work for a variety of reasons ranging from the need to keep up with cost-of-living increases to the need for both parents to feel fulfilled on a business/professional level. The complexities and demands increase dramatically for single parents whose numbers have increased significantly over the last twenty years. However, along with managing business lives, all parents must also maintain a family life for their children. As a result of all of the above, infants and young children today spend a lot of time being driven around in the family vehicle. Whether it is going to and from daycare, running errands, or just the parent's desire to have their child with them, children today can spend several hours a week in a vehicle. This means that the child is frequently subjected to the confines of their child safety seat which, in some states, is now mandated until the child is six years old.
While child safety seats are designed to reduce the risk of injury in the event of a collision, most rely on a harness to snugly hold the child in the seat at all times. Limiting a child's movement in his seat leads to discomfort as heat builds up between the child and the seat. Furthermore, the relatively small volume of cabin space in a vehicle means that the child is exposed to various pollutants (e.g., dust, pollen, smoke, exhaust, unpleasant odors, etc.) in the vehicle. With a vehicle's open windows or ventilation system operating, the pollutants are easily introduced, circulated and/or trapped within the vehicle's cabin space to which the child is exposed. The pollutants can be noxious or, at the very least, be sufficiently annoying to bring about child discomfort. However, in general, when infants and children experience discomfort, they tend to cry or get fussy. Parents/drivers can become distracted by a child's excessive crying or fussy behavior. As with any distraction, the potential result is a traffic accident.